This invention relates to the field of chlorine injecting devices and apparatus which introduce chlorine into waste water or sewage effluent for treatment.
A major problem for apparatus of this kind is that the pumps, screens and conduits of prior art devices would become clogged with particulate matter if the effluent water was itself used as the flow medium. Other prior art devices attempted to avoid this problem by using clean water or treated potable water, but as much as 10,000 to 15,000 gallons of water per day are needed which makes it expensive to use already treated or cleaned water all of which goes to waste when it is used as the flow medium ending up in the effluent or waste water. Prior art devices also use pumps to lift the water used as the flow medium into the water chamber, but they have a short life span when operating 24 hours a day. Pump maintenance and replacement costs become excessive.
Examples of prior art devices in this field of waste water treatment and water purefying devices are disclosed in the following U.S. Pat. No. 4,250,144; No. 4,247,531; No. 4,163,712; No. 3,531,406; No. 3,304,564; No. 2,999,797; No. 2,957,474; No. 2,362,607; No. 2,064,627; No. 1,085,348 and No. 897,940.
The present invention overcomes a number of the problems which exist with prior art devices, since it uses an airlift tube and pressurized air supply rather than a pump in the water passageway of the device itself to lift water into the water chamber. The pressurized air supply of course utilizes a pump in the mechanism used to build up air pressure in a tank from which pressurized air may be obtained for various purposes as is well known in the prior art, and which is not part of the invention shown or described herein. The invention also provides a continuous flow passageway through the entire assembly which is large enough in diameter to permit the passage of particulate matter which may be in the effluent, thereby making screens unnecessary and permitting the use of the effluent water itself as the flow medium rather than requiring a separate cleaned or treated water supply. The particular construction of this invention provides two separate vacuum forces working together to supplement the total vacuum created which is sufficient to draw chlorine from its supply tank, then induce it or mix it with the effluent carrier fluid, after which the chlorinated effluent is injected into the body or tank of effluent water that is to be treated.